We couldn’t say goodbye to Normanton without mentioning a very famous resident. Krys the Crocodile was a real bruiser of a croc and legend has it that this was the largest recorded saltwater crocodile in the world. Krys was shot on the MacArthur Bank, Norman River, down stream from Normanton in July 1957 by Krystina Pawlowski, one of the many crocodile shooters operating in that area at that time.
Krys measured 28ft 4in and is the largest authenticated crocodile ever shot. Krystina’s husband Ron estimated that it could have weighed over two tons and took several photos so that some comparison of the crocodile's real size could be made. These photographs were lost in the 1974 floods.
The replica at L E W Henry Park has been built to the dimensions listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Because no body parts such as the head and jaws, or the skin was kept after the shooting, there is some conjecture that this story is a bit of a country myth, as there is no anecdotal evidence to prove otherwise. True or not, it certainty is a great yarn and stops people in their tracks as they explore Normanton.
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